McGee digs heels in over black card
August 30, 2016
Tipperary's Robbie Kiely is shown a black card by referee David Coldrick during the all Ireland SFC semi final.
Former Football Review Committee chairman Eugene McGee insists the black card is worth persevering with.
Since its introduction, there has been a clamour to get rid of the card, particularly due to inconsistent application of the rules by referees. But McGee is adamant that it has its place in the game:
"Such has been the level of sustained attacks of the black card by a small section of football people since 2014 one gets the impression that it is the equivalent of the black plague," he writes in The Irish Independent.
"The black card is an easy option for these critics because deep down a lot of GAA people do not want to see discipline enforced, except when it suits their own cause.
"Many of these people cling to the macho image of the past as still being in the DNA of Gaelic football, regardless of fair play. That is why for a century or more the third-man tackle, otherwise known as a license to kill, was ignored and indeed often applauded by some spectators and commentators.
"The black card has almost eliminated that particular dark art. The reason the black card was brought in was to curb and eventually eliminate cynical play, which had become rampant in the game, and I defy anybody to prove it has not worked in that respect.
"A lot of GAA people have always had a liking for illegal physical contact, and that included the pulling down of a player to prevent a goal. That has largely been stopped, hence the higher scoring rates, aided by the use of the advantage rule. Who can object to that?"
